The present invention relates to an improved panel. More specifically, without limitation, this invention relates to a panel made for use in portable flooring, folding tables, risers/platforms/event staging, and wall partitions.
There are numerous industries that use portable equipment and items in the preparation and production of events associated with those industries. The portable equipment used in and at these events are typically assembled and/or positioned prior to the event and removed after the event to allow alternate uses and/or different arrangements of the event venues. Examples of types of equipment that are assembled, moved and/or positioned during these events include portable flooring (such as dance floors, tent floors, stadium floors, etc.), folding tables, bench seating, event platforms/risers/staging, walls, and wall partitions.
For each of these various pieces of equipment, one of the general desirable characteristics is a generally planar shaped surface on which people and/or items will walk, stand, or are placed. Other desirable characteristics include high surface and structural durability, light weight, ease of assembly and disassembly, waterproof, various aesthetic patterns, images, and/or colors on the planar surfaces, and cost effective equipment pieces. To this end there have been numerous attempts in the art to construct various portable tables, portable floors, and the like. Examples of these attempts include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,490,577, 2,849,758, 2,907,127, 2,911,274, 3,310,919, 3,323,797, 3,450,593, 3,512,324, 3,567,260, 3,582,447, 3,630,813, 3,676,279, 3,826,056, 3,868,297, 4,144,681, 4,353,947, 4,522,284, 4,645,171, 4,680,216, 4,879,152, 4,931,340, 4,973,508, 4,988,131 5,006,391, 5,070,662, 5,061,541, 5,154,963, 5,288,538, 5,348,778, 5,496,610, 5,569,508, 5,626,157, 5,634,309, 5,667,866, 5,776,582, 5,888,612, 5,947,037, 5,972,468, 5,992,112, 6,061,993, 6,117,518, 6,128,881 6,189,283 6,227,515, 6,235,367, 6,253,530, 6,446,413, 6,445,131, 6,505,452, 6,526,710, 6,743,497, 6,753,061, 6,761,953, 6,837,171 and 6,865,856. These patents are directed at various designs for tables, panels, locking mechanisms, portable flooring and the like. These patents use less than ideal methods to construct the substantially planar surfaces and connect these surfaces.
For example, in the portable flooring industry conventional flooring panels and the methods for making the same have several drawbacks. One type of typical conventional construction includes using oriented strand board or plywood cut to a preferred size from a large blank as the core structure. The perimeter of this core is machined to provide a contour to accept an edge and the core is coated on one side with a protective film for moisture protection. An edge structure is cut to a desired length and machined to facilitate assembly to the core. Then vinyl or wood parquet tiles are manually placed with adhesive glue onto one of the planer surfaces and then pressed and cured for somewhere between six to eight hours. The excess glue is cleaned off and the locking hardware is attached around the exterior.
An alternate conventional method of making the panels includes cutting a foam core to the preferred size and machining it to provide space for the locking hardware. Steel skins are cut and sized to fit over the foam and are glued to the foam core. A laminate skin is glued to the steel skin and then the panel is pressed and cured. Then the panel is placed into a mold wherein an elastomer edging is molded around the panel perimeter. The locking hardware is installed once the panel is removed from the mold.
Both of these conventional methods result in either very heavy panels that are difficult to transport or panels susceptible to water damage. Both of these methods are labor intensive, while the show surfaces, or show skins, of these panels are susceptible to glue failure rendering these panels disfigured and/or unusable.
What is needed then is a new panel and method for making the same that combines a light weight and durable construction for easy and convenient transport together with the ability to withstand the adverse affects of water and prolonged product life in use. The preferable panel is manufactured with more cost effective, less labor intensive methods to make the panel affordable to a broad cross-section of the market. This needed panel is lacking in the art.